We actually have a GIRL!!!

[Disclaimer:  This post may contain what appears to be favoritism...Don't worry--it isn't.  It is just pure gratitude and excitement about our little girl FINALLY arriving!]

I know....shocking, but true!  We actually have a GIRL!  And what a girl she is... She just came that way.  She loves girly things and it thrills us to no end!  

We have four ADORABLE boys and they are 110% BOYS...and they love all sorts of "boyish" things.  We have eaten, slept, played, breathed, boy things for so long...AND we love boys!  They are funner than fun!    

And then...all of a sudden we find ourselves in BRAND NEW TERRITORY!  Alli loves all things girly....hair pretties, bracelettes, purses, dresses, clothes, high heeled shoes, lip gloss, flowers...!!! (and the list goes on...)

We love our little princess Alli.  She is like a breath of fresh air!  She goes out in the lawn and gathers all the little clover flowers and brings them to us.  She insists on smelling ALL flowers!

We caught a couple pictures of her enjoying herself thoroughly with some fresh cut roses.  

Oh life's simple pleasures!!!  

BERNIE, the turtle!

Well, this may be a sad entry for Josh, Wes, and Landon....  We almost had a pet turtle!  We were all out working in the garden sometime in May when one of our neighbors called the boys over to his yard to see something!  Sure enough, there was a TURTLE in his yard!  It had somehow made it through the fence and come from the golf course.  A turtle in UTAH!  We were all shocked!  

Well, our nice neighbor told the boys that they should really take him home and do a huge research project on turtles...(You can imagine my excitement...) 

Our neighbors even helped us come up with a name.  "Bernie" is our neighbor's nick-name and we all thought it quite fitting!

So, because I temporarily lost the "no" in my vocabulary, we took him home and began an enormous research project.  We learned a lot about turtles!  

Bernie spent one whole day at the Ostler house.  He looked sad though.  He only went swimming a few times and usually just hid inside of his shell.  

So, I called every pet shop in Layton and also Animal Control.  Everyone of them told me that turtles live very happily in Utah, year-round. (Imagine that!)  They hibernate all winter long and enjoy the rest of the year swimming in ponds and other wetlands.  So, where do you find the most ponds in Utah?  Of course the golf course!  The pet shops and Animal Control told us we should put him back in his pond on the golf course and that he would live very happily there.  

So, after a very sad farewell, we climbed the fence to the golf course and a very sweet golfing couple agreed to take Bernie to the happiest pond they could find.  

There you have it... Our brief, but happy, encounter with Bernie the turtle!  

What a fun MacKnight party!

Thanks to Jared and Janey, we got to have a great little getaway over Memorial Day Weekend!  We went to Janey's family's cabin in Island Park and we even got to go to YELLOWSTONE!  It was a bit of a drive for all SEVEN of us, but we had so much fun that we hope we will eventually forget about that drive...

Here are the boys and "Uncle Jungle-Gym":

And here is Jerd and Alli having some bonding time!

The bebes LOVED having some freedom to wander in the woods and get really dirty...I don't have a picture of it, but our boys absolutely love to be mountain men.  They explored and gathered materials to build their own miniature log cabin, they had exhilarating four-wheeler rides and every other sort of fun thing!  

Here is Jackson making the most of his time at Yellowstone Park...(You have to give the little guy some credit, He spends a great amount of time with his little bum glued to the stroller!).

Old Faithful was AWESOME!  And you can't believe what happened RIGHT next to us... This guy totally got down on one knee and proposed to his girl right when Old Faithful went off!  We were all congratulating him when she said yes!  

The scenery in Yellowstone is breathtaking!  I don't think anyone would mind too much if I just move in to the park.  We could have spent a full week exploring and never be ready to leave.

Anyways, we had a wonderful time and set a new record.  This was the most MacKnight siblings we have ever gotten together on one trip!  It is so much fun to love your brothers and sisters as much as we do.  If I had to hand pick my brothers and sisters, I would totally pick each one of them.  They are incredible AND incredibly funny!  Thanks for all the fun you adorable thginkcam's!    

We've got a serious case of STICKER POX!!!

It's actually still Mother's Day!

After a late night and an early morning with babies, I woke up to the cutest thing EVER this morning.  Landon came in my room carrying a cookie sheet (his waiter tray) loaded with a delectable breakfast in bed.  He said "Happy Mother's Day Mom!".  He is an adorable and thoughtful little boy....And then some!  

Imagine my surprise when he handed me my feast!  A yogurt and spoon, bread with plenty of strawberry jam, and a beautiful spread of tortilla chips!  

Landon, you are the best!  Thank you for your perfectly thoughtful breakfast.  It tasted amazing!  It was bursting with love....As are you!  

Here's to the moments we mothers will never forget!  

Partners in crime...

We have soooo many pictures that we've never put up of our little ones.  We figured we'd choose a couple fun ones that document just how much fun Alli and Jackson have being twins.  They LOVE each other and they are ALWAYS together.  They follow each other around the house and create havoc anywhere they can.  They love to love each other most of the time....They recently have started to get really upset with each other and have started to try out their new teeth on each other!  Ouch!  But, for the most part they just have so much fun having a built in best friend.  

Here are some of their twin milestones lately:  They have learned how to play tag with each other, kiss each other, bite each other, giggle at each other (for reasons none of us are privy to!), climb in drawers with each other, unroll lots of toilet paper together, open doors together, splash in the toilet together, feed each other (whatever food or non-food items they find on the floor), and copy-cat just about everything the other one does or says! 

Here are a few pictures we get a kick out of...

Oh the fun these two have brought to every one of us in this little big family.  We never EVER have a dull moment!  By the way....we will soon post updates on all the boys.  We eat, sleep and drink in babies around here, and sometimes I'm sure the boys feel a little jipped.  We'll let you know what they have all been up to soon.  

Our little tie-die babies!

Our new street name...

So, our street is named after some numerical configuration that helps anyone be able to locate it.  However, as practical as street numbers have been in the past, I think we are ready for change.  We have decided that it would only be appropriate for our street to be renamed "Alaskan Way".  It's the strangest thing...it snows and blizzards and blows and snows some more, on our street.  Then, we decide to brave the world and leave "Alaskan Way", and to our surprise:  IT IS NOT SNOWING, BLIZZARDING, BLOWING, or anything else of the like anywhere else EXCEPT on our street!  Go figure!  Thus, the urgent and necessary name change.  

Here is adorable Josh, up to his waist in the glorious snow!

It's a good thing we can send communication via email, because the postal system is not currently very practical...

Jeremy is 5'11"...and the pile of snow behind him is catching up very quickly!

And, somewhere behind this beautiful mountain o' snow is where we live.  Our boys LOVE to sled down our crazy hill on the side of our house.  So, all of this snow brings them great joy and satisfaction.  I have not (and probably WILL not) document any sledding adventures through pictures, however.  They are crazy dare-devils out there and some things are better for a mother not to see.  

Anyways, here's what has been happening lately on "Alaskan Way"!

Thank you Matt and Shamra!

So, get this...Before Christmas, our dear friends Matt and Shamra told us we needed family pictures.  Then they told us that they were volunteering to come over to our house and take them for us.  Can you imagine?  They did such a great job.  They brought an awesome backdrop and plenty for all of us to laugh and smile about.  But, the most impressive part is how much patience they brought!  We are so lucky.  

So, here are some of my very favorites.

I don't know how Matt captured this one, but I think it is priceless!  Alli's expression says it all!

And of course, no modern day photo shoot would be complete without a "Kung Fu Panda" pose!

Thank you Matt and Shamra for the great pictures!